On Friday night, as is the case on three Fridays in August, a theatrical production is being staged in Pollentia. ‘He jugat amb els llops’ (I Played with Wolves) has nothing to do with Wolverhampton Wanderers. It is an award-winning play about a boy who was sold by his father at the age of seven to an Andalusian landowner. The boy became a goatherd in a lost valley. He was alone in this valley for almost twelve years until the Guardia Civil found him and brought him back to civilisation.
It’s an intriguing plot. But unless you’re up to speed with Catalan, it won’t mean a great deal. There again, a production in Pollentia is almost as much about the being there as it is about what is happening there. The Roman Theatre is one of the clearest remains from Alcudia’s Roman period. It is the venue for I Played with Wolves, a two-thousand-year-old relic for a twentieth-century play.
There is almost something surreal about this juxtaposition. More than this, I would say there is something magical, mysterious, especially for being able to be present on the site in the dark. Pollentia at night has a totally different feel to the day, in summer in particular because of the warm nights but also because the site in the day is so blooming hot. One admires the student volunteers who take part in the annual summer excavations. For the casual visitor, one’s thoughts may quickly turn to the sea, to a pool or to an ice-cold beer on a shaded terrace.
There are ambitions in terms of archaeological tourism for Pollentia. But then, there have been ambitions for this type of tourism in Mallorca for many a year. Most of this relates to the pre-Roman Talaiotic culture, with some examples of older civilisations, such as the dolmen burial site that is fenced off in the Can Picafort industrial estate; it’s not much of an attraction, to be honest. Pollentia is to be the focal point for this tourism.
Over the road from the site is the Sa Tanca finca. Acquired for just over one million euros - paid for by the Balearic government, Council of Mallorca and Alcudia town hall - the finca promises further excavation potential. In addition, it will house the Mallorca Archaeology Centre. The drafting of the project for the centre will be done some time later this year. A tender for its construction will then be raised, and the Council - it would appear - will foot the bill, around 15 million euros.
The Council’s president, Llorenç Galmés, the councillor for culture and heritage, Antònia Roca, the mayor of Alcudia, Fina Linares, and others wandered around Pollentia the other day. Under a hot sun, they look ill-equipped. The directors of the excavations, Catalina Mas and Miquel Àngel Cau, had their wide-brimmed sun hats on.
Still, they heard about what’s been going on with the digs this summer, and Galmés was able to explain that his new administration has apparently located some 40,000 pieces that are owned by the Council but which had been stashed away in warehouses and forgotten. These pieces will eventually appear in the museum, which at some time in the future will be joined by a centre for underwater archaeology as well.
Will this be money well-spent? As far as archaeological tourism is concerned, I have my doubts. But the initiative shouldn’t be considered only in tourism terms. Certainly not. Culture and heritage deserve to be preserved. They are essential for any society. And in Pollentia, this preservation can mean something magical, even if you haven’t got a clue what they’re going on about.
File photo of a broken pipe in Alcudia.
Same old contamination to and fro in Pollensa
On Avenida Tucan in Puerto Alcudia at the weekend there was another sewer burst of the type that periodically blights both Tucan and the main Carretera Arta. In Puerto Pollensa, there was one by the Eroski supermarket earlier this week. While opposition groups in Alcudia didn’t rush to condemn the new administration for the spill, they did in Pollensa.
It’s always the same, or so it can seem whenever there’s a problem with the drains in Puerto Pollensa and especially if a spill might affect the sea or wetland. The opposition is quick to pounce, even if its record when in office was hardly unblemished in this regard.
According to Tots per Pollença and El Pi, who formed a coalition at the May election, the spill by Eroski was evidence of a “lack of preventive measures” on behalf of the PSOE-Més administration which has replaced them. It was a matter of “great concern” for residents, given that the contaminated water could have got into La Gola.
They maintain that procedures when they were in power are being ignored and want to know “who is now in charge of supervising and preventing this type of environmental disaster”. They demand an immediate response by the new administration in order to put an end to this “alarming situation”. Yes well, Tots can hardly claim that there was a complete absence of alarming situations when they were running the town hall.
Motorhomes the reason for Bonaire car park barriers
They are increasingly familiar issues. On the one hand there are more and more motorhomes in search of somewhere to park; on the other there are the problems that are created when they do park. According to the company with the concession for the marina in Bonaire, aka Cocodrilo, the number of motorhomes using the car park is the reason why barriers have been installed. Until now, the car park has been freely available to anyone. But it does apparently form part of the concession. PortsIB, the regional government’s ports authority, said earlier this week that it hadn’t received a request to authorise a car park with payment but that the company could decide to use the car park solely for members. Alcudia town hall has meanwhile asked for the relevant documentation to justify closing the car park off in this manner.
As Andrew says, the architectural importance of Alcúdia is important and as a world heritage site it demands to be protected and enhanced.
But, not at the cost of basic services. And yes, we are talking bins again.
As tourism increases and the number of people visiting double or quadruple, so does the level of rubbish. But …. the bins remain broken and overflowing each night in Alcúdia.
There aren’t nearly enough rubbish collections, bin people, bin trucks or basic (working) equipment.
It’s a total disgrace. The ancient world heritage walls of Alcúdia, have become a backdrop for overflowing piles of plastic, card and waste bags all huddled around broken stinking bins.
It’s not the workers. Those poor folk are the hero’s. It’s the new council members, who have awarded themselves pay rises, whilst the village drowns in rubbish.
And Alcúdia isn’t waving, it’s drowning, in this sea of waste. Whilst the town hall pockets thousands of euros in local taxes, increasing their reserve fund to an eye watering amount.
The incompetence is astounding:(
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As Andrew says, the architectural importance of Alcúdia is important and as a world heritage site it demands to be protected and enhanced. But, not at the cost of basic services. And yes, we are talking bins again. As tourism increases and the number of people visiting double or quadruple, so does the level of rubbish. But …. the bins remain broken and overflowing each night in Alcúdia. There aren’t nearly enough rubbish collections, bin people, bin trucks or basic (working) equipment. It’s a total disgrace. The ancient world heritage walls of Alcúdia, have become a backdrop for overflowing piles of plastic, card and waste bags all huddled around broken stinking bins. It’s not the workers. Those poor folk are the hero’s. It’s the new council members, who have awarded themselves pay rises, whilst the village drowns in rubbish. And Alcúdia isn’t waving, it’s drowning, in this sea of waste. Whilst the town hall pockets thousands of euros in local taxes, increasing their reserve fund to an eye watering amount. The incompetence is astounding:(